Greetings blades So I've been lurking around these forums for quite a while reading all kinds of articles and threads including tips for selecting a new pipe. I'm looking at getting my first glass and I can't come to a decision. This is mostly because of the huge range of choices and not knowing enough about the individual pieces. I have a fairly loose budget of aprox. 150 US$ for this purchase. I have been looking at glasscity's Bubblicious bong which seems like a good deal because it's 7mm, diffused downstem, ice catcher and pinched bowl. But I've also been considering getting a cheaper straight tube because I hear they hit/clear like a champ. Molino straight tubes are 5mm and look pretty good. If I choose this option I will get an Alex K or sovereignty gridded downstem and maybe a disk diffused slide. I like weedstar's smellchecker with that inline/stemline diffuser but I've heard they have terrible ice catchers which can very likely allow a cube to fall through shattering the diffuser. I have HUGE lungs but my throat is what kills me which is why I'm particular about good diffusion so I can be able to take big hits. To sum it up, I'm looking for a bong that's at least 15 inches tall, ice catcher, avoiding percs because I don't believe I can find a good one at my price range, *effective* diffused downstem, and at least 5mm thick. Thank you for reading all of this any advice would be appreciated. I'll be making my order very soon and will post hit/milk vids!
Got this for $50 at my local head shop and added some diffuser beads and hits like a champ, if u buy something similar u should be left with about $90 for herb! Dont listen to the hype, there are alot of good no name pieces!
[quote name='"happytrails420"']Got this for $50 at my local head shop and added some diffuser beads and hits like a champ, if u buy something similar u should be left with about $90 for herb! Dont listen to the hype, there are alot of good no name pieces![/quote] No one said there wasn't good stuff for cheap. OP: I think the bubbalicious bong has better diffusion with just the outer downstem than an Alex k. My friend just got his bubbalicious glass city bong in the mail. He took the inner diffusor out and just used the honeycomb downstem with a b. Wilson DD slide. It hits like a champ, is super smooth, and clears faster than most beakers because of the slide allowing a lot of air in. I like it better this way than with the second diffusor in the downstem. I was once thinking about getting tx. Burner from weedstar. Only $40, has ice catcher, putting a disc diffused slide, and an sg waffle or Alex k downstem on there. That way you could still have some cash left over for bud. Let us all know what you decide!
Lol, there is hype for a reason dude.... Us weed/glass connoisseurs dont hype over our shit for nothing, if it wasn't worth it we wouldn't be happy with our purchases, at least i wouldn't be. But back to the topic, you can get an off brand piece for alot cheaper yes, BUT chances are it will break more easily then if you got a nice name brand.
Thank for the comments guys and interesting bong you got there happytrails, nice pick up! Here's an update of my progress/thoughts. I do indeed like the bubblicious as it has many things going for it such as a great diffy downstem, pinched bowl and thick glass however, I am skeptical of the downstem's performance as posted previously: Redundancy aside, I have to admit it's still a good deal. I am still looking around because after shipping it'll cost $180 and I can't help but feeling that for that price there are more options I haven't considered. I decided to ditch the weedstar/blackleaf idea for the time being and will reconsider it if I can't find a solution. And for the Molino - well its still a really nice tube, good height but I don't know enough about the downstem and whether I will have to get an Alex K for it or not. Also it has a thin bowl so I will have to replace that as well. $90 for the tube + $30 shipping and about $40(shipped) for a B. Wilson disc diffused slide will run me $160 ASSUMING the downstem is acceptable. Right now I'm in the middle of working out a deal with SSFG for an 18" tube 5mm tube, diffy down stem and DD slide. Also trying to see which parts I can get worked to add that personal touch to make my first piece that more special. I'll keep you guys updated and will post pics/vids when I finally receive it.
Please feel more than welcome to give me any more suggestions. I'm in the process of making an offer of $180 shipped for a straight 5mm 18" tube with a diffused downstem and disk diffused bowl. Both the base inside the tube and the bowl are custom worked with reversals wig wag whatever(haven't decided yet). Like the title says, Im a glass newbie, so is $180 overpriced? Or is it an insult to make an offer at that price? Lets see.. about 40 for the bowl, 40 for the stem and 100 for the tube.. sounds fair to me but im no expert so what do you blades think? I should also mention that I was originally quoted $200 for just the tube with a worked base(just the inside of at the base like they do on some beakers) which i felt was pretty steep or is that how much worked glass usually cost. The last thing i want is to end up like that 750 PHX dude, i feel real bad for him tho the entire thread is just a barrel of laughs.
$200 for a simple worked tube seems about right to me. Worked glass almost always adds at least 50$ on top of the price if not more but it's really dependent upon how much work is done.
HVY 16" Straight Tube is 110, and the Alex K Showerhead with it will put you at 150, a little over 160 with shipping. You can replace the bowl later on.
I agree with Euca, unless that 180 deal comes with a really good downstem, at least alex k quality. The glasscity may be a good choice too, I haven't used one, but I usually hear good things about the diffuser, and the glass is supposed to be nice. The molino is ok, but I think you can do better in that range. I would also say that if you need to shave some off the price then I would put off getting the bowl. They are a great feature, but you really need the best tube possible to be able to take the most advantage of the DD bowl, so It would be better to get a better tube and get the bowl later on. And depending on the quality of the glass and how much work is on it $200 would be a good price on worked tube. $180 with a bowl would be a fantastic price, but understandable for like a local blower, or used, or something.
7mm manifest for 140 maybe a alex k later? Or the bubblicous for sure, pretty anything from aqu4 labs
Good advice from euca , mada and exploit! If you have your heart set on a bong the HVY line is an all around sturdy line and you cannot go wrong with any of their tubes and the price is way under your budget for a couple of these. I personally like the molino 9mm pieces and last I would consider a bubbler if you want to start smaller....they still rip hard depending on what you choose I like the headford inline and the wildrok inline. Puffer
Hey guys just wanted to give you an update, A few months ago I started taking an interest in glass and I definitely know a lot more now. Before this thread, I was getting pipe advice as well, so now I've got my first 2 glass pieces and wanted to share a few pics of what I ended up getting and my previous piece. Custom water & dry pipes, Enjoy the pics Old home made Dry glass pipe Water pipe w/ worked bowl & base By SSFG
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I spent a lot of time making a decision and I'm glad it turned out well Their site is ssfgglass . com just select 'custom quote' and you'll get a response on whatever you want within 24 hours. I have heard people had bad experiences dealing with ssfg in the past but I believe things are different now. They have someone monitoring and responding to emails so communication is no longer an issue. As for the price, I had a budget to stick to so we had to work out a different amount but it ended up costing me $215 USD. I realize a fair amount of what I'm paying for is the worked base and slide, which goes against the general function>form rule but I wanted to make this piece special because it's my first so yea.. Also the pipe is from Etsy: Novaglass. Really nice dude, extremely helpful and makes sick spoons.
